PUD replacing Island water line

Wahkiakum PUD has received its permit and begun work on the $250,000 water main project along SR 409 on Puget Island.

During the past three weeks workers have installed three-tenths of a mile of the new 10” plastic water pipe down the east side of SR 409.

The job is expected to last until next summer, with workers cutting back in the fall and winter because of the high ground water levels on Puget Island.

“We’re digging about a four-foot deep trench alongside the road,” said Water Department Foreman Jim Jespersen, “and in the winter we won’t be able to work in the trenches.”

The crew expects to finish half the project this year and the rest by next summer.

Jespersen said the challenge comes from the many residential water, electrical and driveway connections that crisscross SR 409. “It takes time for the crew to work their way through the maze of wires and pipes,” said Jespersen.

The crew also expects delays when they reach the electrical sub-station at the corner of Welcome Slough Road and SR 409.

The 1.4 mile pipe-laying project begins in front of the Puget Island Fire Station and runs all the way to Sunny Sands Road, where workers will also install a new valve and connect up the new water pipe.

Puget Island's 60 year-old water system contains 17,000 feet of asbestos coated water pipe that is gradually being replaced.

Without doing so the asbestos could leach into the system’s potable water to create a health hazard, and significant risk to the community.